Schizaea dichotoma
Common names
fan fern
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Ferns
Detailed description
Tufted, widely creeping fern forming diffuse patches in open, often semi-shaded sparsely vegetated ground; usually arising from within thick leaf litter. Stipes 100–350 × 1.0–1.5 mm, brown at base, green to dark green, erect, flattened, flabellate in upper portion with stipe forked 3–6–(8) times, smooth. Laminae at apices of stipe ends, pinnate (fertile), 2–7 mm long, bright green to yellow-green. Pinnae in 5–8 pairs, infolded, 2–4 mm long. (Description modified from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000)).
Similar taxa
None. The combination of the dark green, flattened, fan-shaped frond with each stipe end (of the fan) surmounted with a fertile laminae are unique to this species within the New Zealand representatives of the genus.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: Kermadec Islands (Raoul Island), North Island (from Te Paki south to Kawhia and Mt Maunganui, and locally around geothermally active sites around Rotorua and Taupo). Widespread from Madagascar east to Australia and across the Pacific.
Habitat
Usually associated with lowland kauri (Agathis australis (D.Don.) Lindl.) forest but also found in coastal areas and offshore island under pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa Sol. ex Gaertn.)-dominated forest (e.g., Mayor Island / Tuhua. In geothermal areas it is often found under shrubs of Kunzea tenuicaulis de Lange.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp, S?O
Threats
Not Threatened. A naturally uncommon, biologically sparse species. It can at times be very common but it is usually found as widely scattered populations. There is little doubt that some populations have declined due to land development and other changes in the surrounding vegetation (e.g., Mt Maunganui).
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Propagation technique
Difficult—should not be removed from the wild
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Etymology
dichotoma: Forked or divided into pairs
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
SCHDIC
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO
2004 | Sparse
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Brownsey PJ, Smith-Dodsworth JC. 2000. New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. David Bateman, Auckland, NZ. 168 p.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange July 2005. Description modified from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth 2000.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Schizaea dichotoma Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/schizaea-dichotoma/ (Date website was queried)